


Fluffy Yoko Factor

by Hils



Series: The Fluffy Files [32]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-02-06
Updated: 2001-02-06
Packaged: 2018-10-11 01:31:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10451979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hils/pseuds/Hils





	

With an elegant twirl of her stake Buffy watched with satisfaction as the vampire she'd been fighting exploded into a cloud of dust. It had been a long night and that worried her. There seemed to be a lot of vampires and demons around which usually meant that something bad was coming. Most likely it had something to do with Adam. They were still no closer to finding a way of defeating him.

With a sigh she decided to call it a night. She couldn't go on fighting forever; even a Slayer needed to rest. She turned to head back to her house and found herself walking face first into a black clad chest. She didn't even need to look up to know who it was; she could smell the cigarettes and leather.

"What do you want, Spike?" She asked wearily, taking a step back so that she was talking to his face instead of his pectorals.

Spike shrugged and lit up a cigarette. "That's no way to talk to someone who has vital information for you."

Buffy sighed again; information always cost money as far as Spike was concerned. She really didn't need him leading her on some wild goose chase tonight. She was tired and just wanted to go home.

"Some other time." She said, stepping around him and carrying on with her journey.

"I know where Adam is." Spike called after her and this was enough to stop her dead in her tracks.

Slowly she turned back to face him and saw that he was now leaning casually against one of the gravestones, the cigarette still hanging from his lips. With a frown she marched back over to him and jabbed her finger into his chest.

"All right, talk. And if this turns out to be some sort of trick or trap I'm going to stake you _so_ bad."

Spike raised his hands in mock surrender. "Right, I got it."

Buffy folded her arms expectantly.

"Before I tell you I want something from you."

This earned him a growl of frustration from Buffy which he duly ignored.

"I want a regular supply of blood and I want projection. If word gets out that I've betrayed Adam then I'm going to have every demon in town out for my head, including the man himself."

Buffy supposed it was a fair request. She couldn't very well ask Spike to put himself in danger and then sit back and watch a group of angry demons tear him to shreds.

"Ok, you've got a deal."

Spike nodded and quickly told her everything he knew, including Adam's offer to remove his chip in exchange for Spike's help. By the time he'd finished Buffy was staring at him with her eyes wide and her jaw slightly dropped. Spike couldn't help but smirk at the sight and this seemed to bring Buffy to her senses.

"So you're telling me that Adam wants me separated from me friends and he offered to remove your chip if you made us all fall out."

Spike nodded. "That's about the size of it."

Buffy's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Then why are you telling me this? I thought you _wanted_ the chip out of your head."

Spike ground his cigarette stub beneath his boot heal and lit a fresh one. "I've been a vampire for over a hundred years and if it's one thing I've learnt in that time it's that demons can't be trusted. No matter what they promise you it usually means you'll either get something you don't want or you'll just be killed once you've served your purpose. You're one of the good guys, if you tell me I'll be kept safe then I believe you. A lot more that I believe Mr. Bits-n-Pieces anyway."

Buffy nodded, finding it a little strange that a vampire trusted her more than one of his own kind. Then again Spike had never really been a typical vampire.

"We need to tell the others so we can work out some sort of plan."

Spike gave a nonchalant shrug and the two of them headed out of the cemetery, neither of them speaking another word.

* * *

"I don't like this." Riley said and from the looks on the other faces in the room he wasn't the only one. Xander had been the first to show his distrust when Buffy had explained that Spike was going to help them and he didn't look any more trusting now that he'd heard the full story. Giles seemed to remain impassive although there was also an element of distrust in his eyes as well. Anya looked as though she didn't care unless it was going to directly involve Xander. Willow and Tara both looked uncertain, Tara because she didn't really know anyone and Willow because although she trusted Buffy's judgement she was still unsure about Spike.

"Guys, we don't have much of a choice." Buffy said. She'd known they wouldn't be happy with the choice of ally they were being presented with. She wasn't even sure she was happy about it herself. Spike wasn't exactly the most trustworthy of individuals but as she'd just said, they didn't have much of a choice.

"I still don't like it." Riley replied. "He's a vampire, we can't trust him."

"I gotta agree with Riley." Xander added. "This all sounds like a trap to me."

Spike was getting fed up. He'd expected a reaction like this to his offer but at the moment it was getting them nowhere. He couldn't stay for much longer. He was pretty much at Adam's beck and call now and the demon would begin to get suspicious if he was gone for too long. He'd really hope the Scoobies would have come up with a plan by now. How they'd ever beaten him in the past was beyond him.

He stood up; making sure his chair made a loud scraping sound as he pushed it back.

"I'm going to leave you kiddies to squabble over whether you want to listen to me or not. When you've figured out what you want to do come and find me. I'll be around."

The room fell silent as Spike walked out, closing the door firmly behind him.

"He's right." Buffy said once the sound of Spike's footsteps had faded into nothing. "We need to figure out what we're going to do."

"I still say we don't need Spike's help." Xander said and Riley nodded his agreement.

Buffy already knew their thoughts, but it still wasn't helping them come up with a plan. "Giles? Any thoughts?"

Giles cleaned his glasses thoughtfully for a moment before replacing them. "I understand Xander and Riley's worries. But I think you're right Buffy, we can't afford to miss an opportunity like this. We've known how to destroy Adam for some time and the only problem has been finding him. Now we have that chance and I think it wise to take it. Spike's not a fool, and I think he could actually be telling the truth about this."

Buffy nodded, this was exactly what she needed to hear. She knew she could rely on Giles to look at this objectively and not be ruled by his feeling in the way that Riley and Xander clearly were.

"Right. Tomorrow I'll get Spike to show me around and scope out the place. One I know what we're getting ourselves into we'll hit it with everything we've got. Agreed?"

Everyone nodded including Riley and Xander. They may not agree to the partnership with Spike but when it came to a fight they were behind Buffy all the way.

"Riley, I want you to patrol tomorrow. The monsters seem to be out in hoards at the moment and we'll get more done if there's two of us covering town."

"Sure." Riley nodded.

Satisfied that they now had a working plan Buffy yawned and stretched. "Well, I'm going to call it a night. Wills, you heading back with me?"

The faintest hint of a blush flared on the young witch's cheeks and she shook her head. "Me and Tara have some...um...homework to finish."

Buffy smiled and nodded. So far she was the only one of the Scoobies that knew of Willow and Tara's relationship and it was clear that Willow wasn't quite ready for the others to know yet.

"I'll see you later then. Night guys."

Heading back to her dorm Buffy was soon tucked up in bed where she quickly fell into an exhausted sleep.

* * *

Spike opened his eyes sleepily as he heard the door to his crypt bang open. It could only be one person.

"What do you want, Slayer." He murmured, closing his eyes in an attempted to get back to sleep. To his surprise, however, he felt a weight on him and looked up to see Buffy's face hovering above him as she straddled him.

"Hello cutie." She whispered with a mischievous smile. "I told you we were going to have a confrontation. Wanna know what warm champagne feels like?"

With that she leant down and kissed him, running her hands over his bare chest as she did so. Spike couldn't help but moan, she felt so good.

As Buffy's hands moved lower, however, Spike became aware of another presence in the crypt.

"Spike, you're going to help me with my problem."

It was Adam, and Buffy didn't seem to be aware of his presence. She was too occupied trailing kisses down Spike's stomach.

Adam grinned as he looked at the Slayer before moving his eyes back to Spike.

"You're going to help me with my problem." He repeated. "And I'm going to help you with yours."

Before Spike could ask Adam what he meant, the demon shot a skewer out of his arm, impaling Buffy through the chest. Spike screamed as Buffy raised her head to meet his eyes, blood trickling down the corner of her lips.

"Spike..." She whispered ever so softly before the life faded from her eyes and her head dropped back down onto her chest.

"NO!" Spike yelled, sitting bolt upright in bed, his eyes flitting around the crypt. There was no sign of Adam or Buffy's body. It had just been a dream.

Spike rubbed a trembling hand over his face to wipe away the sweat that had formed there. A quick glance out of the window told him that the sun would soon be down and that Buffy would be there shortly. He hoped.

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Spike asked as he and Buffy headed into the caves where Spike had told her Adam was based. "The bloke's got this place wired to the roof. He's going to see you coming before you're a foot inside."

His dream had been nothing more than that. A dream. Buffy had turned up just as expected, alive and well. He just wished he could stop thinking about how good her kissed had felt, and how much it had hurt when he'd seen her die.

Buffy shrugged and continued to climb up to the mouth of the cave. "We'll deal with him if we have to. But I need to get an idea of the layout for this place."

Spike sighed, amazed that Buffy had lasted this long. Most of her plans seemed to involve just charging into places without any thoughts of the danger. Still, he was here and he'd do what he could to keep her safe. It was still strange for him to have feelings other than hatred for the Slayer but that was just the way it was. Even if she didn't know it he still cared for her and would do anything to help her.

Spike took the lead once they were inside the cave. His eyes were better accustomed to the dark than hers plus he knew where he was going. Behind him he heard the gentle hum of the tazer gun Riley had insisted she take with her as a precaution. Who he wanted her to use it on Spike wasn't entirely certain of, but he was pretty sure Riley wouldn't be unhappy if he got blasted with it.

"Just watch where you point that thing." Spike warned, voicing his thoughts. "I don't fancy getting fried."

"I know how to handle weapons, Spike." Buffy replied with annoyance. He couldn't see it but he was pretty sure she was rolling her eyes.

"So how far in is Adam's lair?" Buffy asked, moving forward now that her eyes had adjusted to the dark.

"Just up there." Spike replied softly, they were standing so close that he could feel the heat radiating from her body, warming his cold one. He could smell the faintest hint of musk in the air, mixed with the scent of whatever shampoo she'd used that morning. He swallowed hard, not sure if he was going to be able to control himself around her for much longer. He couldn't believe it had taken him this long to realise they hadn't killed each other. He should have figured it out sooner, like when they were under the spell that had made them engaged, or when Buffy had propositioned him in the Bronze that night. He'd always found it strange that she'd never spoken to him that way since.

"Is there anything else I need to see?" Buffy asked, clueless to what was running through Spike's mind as he stood beside her.

"Just one." A voice replied, and it wasn't the voice of Spike.

Both vampire and Slayer jumped as Adam emerged from the shadows, a look of amusement and wonder on his face.

"You disappoint me, Spike. I expected more from a vampire such as yourself." Adam said, his voice surprisingly calm.

Spike shrugged. "What can I say, I'm a disappointment to most people."

Having had enough of the banter Buffy moved forward and pointed her tazer at Adam whose look of amusement merely increased.

"You foolish girl. Your little toy gun cannot kill me."

Buffy fired. "Might slow you down a bit though."

Adam took the blast fully in the chest but to Buffy and Spike's surprise he didn't go down, in fact it was quite the opposite. The energy could literally be seen running up and down his body, strengthening him as he absorbed the energy into himself.

"Thank you." He smiled with satisfaction as he pointed his arm at Buffy and shot the tazer energy back out at her. Spike made a dive for the Slayer, attempting to knock her out of the way. Unfortunately he wasn't quite fast enough and the bolt hit her squarely in the chest, propelling her into the cave wall. She was still conscious, but stunned.

As she struggled to her feet Spike ran over and helped her up as Adam fired again. This time Spike was able to pull her out of the way and the two of them quickly made their way to the cave exit.

Buffy was the first to make it outside, limping badly from the bast she'd taken. Spike followed close behind; watching her back and noticing with worry that Adam wasn't following them. That wasn't a good sign.

He looked back to Buffy and realised she wasn't looking where she was going either. He barely had time to shout a warning before the tumbled over the edge of the steep hill at the mouth of the cave and disappeared from sight. With a soft curse Spike slowly climbed down after her, taking care with his footing so that he didn't fall too.

It didn't take him long to find Buffy. She'd only rolled about halfway down the hill before a large rock had stopped her. He crouched down beside her and gently turned her head to him, swearing again when he saw that she was unconscious and had a rather large gash on her temple. So much for his plan to keep her safe. In the space of a few minutes he'd managed to get her blasted and knocked out.

Thankfully the head wound appeared to be Buffy's only injury. Her limbs all seemed to be in one piece and he was pretty sure that with her Slayer healing she'd soon recover from this.

Carefully he picked her up, hating the way her body was limp in his arms. It made her feel so fragile and delicate. With a sigh he began to make his way back to Buffy's dorm, hoping she'd wake up before they got there.

* * *

Unfortunately things never seemed to go the way Spike wanted and Buffy was still out cold when they got to her room.

"I hope Red's not home." Spike muttered as he tried to keep Buffy cradled in his arms and open the door at the same time. On the third attempt he managed it and was relieved to find the place in darkness. Something was going his way at least. He set Buffy down on the bed and flipped the light on. He winced as he saw the wound on Buffy's head had now blossomed into a rather swollen and ripe looking bruise. She was going to have one hell of a headache when she woke up.

A quick search of the room revealed a first aid kit and Spike sat down on the edge of the bed beside Buffy. Since he'd got her into this mess the least he could do was fix her up.

Soaking a piece of gauze with some disinfectant he began to carefully wipe at her wound. For this part at least he was glad she was still unconscious. It would have hurt like hell otherwise.

Almost as though she was reading his thoughts Buffy winced and raised her hand to her head, placing it on top of Spike's when she couldn't reach the wound.

"Ow." She muttered, keeping her eyes closed.

"Just lie still a minute." Spike said softly, trying to cover the relief in his voice. "Let me finish fixing you up."

Buffy nodded slightly and winced when the movement made her head hurt more.

As carefully as he could Spike finished cleaning the wound and placed a band-aid over the top of it.

"All done." He said, moving off the bed to pack the first aid kit away. Buffy experimentally opened her eyes and found that it didn't hurt quite as bad as she'd expected. She also wasn't seeing double or anything like that which meant she probably didn't have a concussion. Once her healing abilities kicked in she'd be fine.

She found that she was able to sit up without the room spinning and she watched as Spike cleared everything away.

"Thanks." She said. "For helping me."

Spike moved back over to the bed and retook his seat beside her. "Don't thank me. It's my fault you got hurt."

For a moment Buffy thought he was kidding, or at least being sarcastic. Then she saw the look on his face and the genuine sincerity in his eyes. He really did blame himself for what happened and he actually cared. She'd never expected to have to deal with feelings of guilt from Spike. He didn't have a soul, he wasn't supposed to care. But looking into his pain filled eyes was more than she could bear. Reaching out she gently brushed her hand over his cheek.

"It wasn't your fault." She said with a small smile, trying to lighten the situation. "Next time I'll look where I'm going."

Spike shook his head. "I promised myself I wouldn't let anything happen to you. I really ballsed that one up."

Buffy sighed. "If you keep this up I'm going to have to start calling you Angel. Stop with the guilt already, it wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault."

The sound of Angel's name had the exact effect that Buffy had wanted. The look of guilt in Spike's eyes was replaced by one of anger.

"I'm _nothing_ like that bloody poof."

"Then stop acting like him." Buffy replied. "Now can you get off the bed so I can get up and get out of these clothes."

Spike's eyes widened as he stood up, staring transfixed at Buffy as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. It was only when she was preparing to stand that she caught the look on his face and realised what he was thinking.

"Jeez, Spike. I meant get out of these clothes and into some that aren't covered in blood. Get out of the gutter for a moment would you."

Spike couldn't help but grin at that one and Buffy returned the smile.

"And you needn't think you're getting a free show either." She added playfully. "You can go and wait outside until I'm ready."

Spike mock pouted but did as he was told, leaving Buffy to change. Once he was outside he took a deep, unneeded breath. Despite the circumstances that had brought him to her room that night, he couldn't help but enjoy himself. Buffy seemed to really be starting to accept him as a friend. He was pretty sure he'd never be anything more to her, she had Captain Whitebread after all. Friends was better than nothing.

He really needed a smoke; he hadn't had one since before Buffy had been hurt. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his rather battered cigarette pack. Empty. Then he remembered seeing a vending machine just outside the dorm block and fished around in his pocket. He probably had enough to buy himself a packet and by the time he was done Buffy would probably be ready.

Things were finally going his way.

* * *

Buffy checked herself in the mirror and was satisfied that she looked as decent as she was going to. She'd changed her clothes and was now examining the wound on her head. Spike had done a pretty good job of fixing her up. She never imagined she'd be seeing this whole new side of the vampire, one who tended wounds, felt guilt and showed signs of caring. All without a soul. If Buffy was honest she liked what she was seeing.

A knock on the door brought her from her thoughts. Spike must be getting impatient.

"Come in." She called. "I'm done."

The door opened but the vampire that stepped in wasn't the one she'd been expecting. Her eyes widened at the sight of her former lover stood in the doorway to her room.

"Angel?" She whispered, not sure if he was really there or if the knock to her head was causing her to hallucinate.

"It's me." He said softly. "Can I come in? I'm guessing you didn't know it was me when you gave the invite."

Buffy shook her head, still trying to deal with what she was seeing. The memories of their last meeting were still fresh in her mind. He'd been so cruel to her, speaking to her in a way she'd never heard him before, not while he'd had his soul anyway. Angelus was a whole different kettle of fish.

"Buffy?" He asked again, reminding her that he was still stood in her doorway waiting for an invite.

"Sorry." She said, I was expecting someone else. "Um..come in Angel."

As he stepped inside she finally got a good look at his face. There was a cut above his right eye, leaving a small trail of blood down the side of his face. His lower lip was also split and it didn't take a genius to figure out he'd had a run in with someone or something.

"What happened?" She asked, resisting the urge to reach up and touch his face like she'd done so many times in the past.

He shook his head and took a step back. "It doesn't matter, that's not why I came."

Buffy suddenly detected an urgency in his voice that she hadn't picked up on before. Something was wrong.

"Angel, what's going on?"

Before he could answer the door burst open and Riley walked on, or stumbled in to be more accurate. He looked even worse than Angel, his whole face battered and bruised. In one hand he held a gun and in the other a stake. Rage burned in both his and Angel's eyes but it was nothing compared to Buffy's.

"Tell me I'm not seeing this." Buffy said, her voice dangerously calm. "Tell me that while I've been out trying to stop the latest big bad that you two haven't been engaging in some sort of macho pissing contest."

"He's evil again." Riley said, jumping in before Angel could even open his mouth.

"What?" Angel replied incredulously. " _You're_ the one who attacked _me_."

"You attacked those soldiers." Riley replied, determined not to let Angel have the last word.

" _They_ attacked me too." Angel said calmly like a parent addressing a small child.

"Maybe they had good reason to." Riley answered.

"That's enough!" Buffy yelled, her eyes blazing at they flitted between the two men. "Now, I don't care who started it and why but it ends now, ok."

Like two children being scolded by the teacher Angel and Riley fell silent and Spike chose that one moment of silence to breeze through the door.

"Saw the door was open so I figured you were decent."

He trailed off as he took in the scene before him. Buffy, Riley and Angel all looked ready for blood, whose he wasn't sure but he realised he's probably picked a bad time to walk in.

"Oh, bloody hell." He muttered, debating whether to stay or go.

Angel and Riley looked at Spike for a moment, then at each other and then at Buffy.

"What's he doing here?" They both asked in unison, shooting each other a glare when they realised they'd both spoken at once.

Buffy stared at the three men in the room, all looking at her expectantly. Angel and Riley clearly wanted an explanation for Spike's presence and Spike just looked like he wanted to know what was going on. This couldn't be any more messed up if she'd tried. It was starting to give her a headache.

With a small moan she began to massage the one temple that wasn't swollen and sore. Spike was at her side in an instant, clearly worried that she was suffering some after effect of her wound.

"Are you ok?" He asked, laying a gentle hand on her arm.

Buffy smiled at him gratefully, thankful that at least someone in the room wasn't drunk on testosterone.

"I'm fine." She said, returning her eyes to Riley and Angel. The most sensible thing she could think of to do was to deal with them one at a time.

"Riley, Angel's not evil. He just came to talk."

Riley didn't look convinced. "Then why did he attack those men?"

Buffy glanced at Angel and then returned her eyes to Riley. "If Angel says it was self-defence then I believe him. The Initiative has been kind of on a roll lately. They wouldn't have known that Angel's good."

Finally Riley seemed to accept this and nodded.

"Angel, why are you here?" Buffy then asked.

"I just came to apologise for what I said to you in LA. I'm sorry."

Buffy nodded. "No, you were right. We don't belong in each other's worlds anymore. But next time you want to apologise, use the phone."

"What about Spike?" Angel and Riley both asked once they realised that Buffy was done with them.

"Angel, I don't have time to explain the background but Spike can't hurt people anymore. He's been helping us and he took care of me tonight when I got hurt."

Angel moved over to Buffy and Spike, his eyes locked on the younger vampire with distrust and surprise. Instinctively Buffy moved in front of Spike, not trusting Angel not to give Spike the same treatment he'd given Riley.

"Buffy, you can't trust him." Angel said softly.

"Well, at least we agree on something." Riley muttered.

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "Are you for real? Didn't we have exactly the same conversation about Faith a few days ago? You think you have the right to tell me who to trust and who not to, but I can't do the same?"

Angel knew he couldn't win that one. He stepped back.

"You're right. But if he ever tries to hurt you I'll back here so fast..."

Buffy allowed her face to soften. She supposed she could understand why Angel was worried. He hadn't seen how Spike had changed since getting the chip.

"I think you should go."

Angel nodded, it was clear that he had no place here anymore just as he had told her when she was in LA. Without another word he turned and left, leaving Buffy alone with Riley and Spike.

_One down_. She thought wearily, seeing that Riley wasn't going to leave as easily as Angel had.

"Buffy, I'm sorry." Riley said. "It's just Xander told me what it was that made Angel go bad, what broke the curse. I dunno, I guess I went a little crazy."

"There's an understatement." Spike muttered. He may not like Angel but he hated Riley more, since him and his band of merry men were the ones that put the chip in his head.

"You thought I'd slept with Angel while I was in LA?" Buffy asked with disbelief.

Riley shrugged. "Sometimes things happen between ex's."

"Riley, if we're going to have any sort of future together then you're going to have to trust me. What Angel and I had is in the past."

"But he's a monster! Don't you see that Buffy, even with a soul he's still not human. I just don't understand how you could do.....that with a creature like him. He's a corpse."

Buffy could barely believe she was hearing this. Riley had seemed so accepting when she'd first told him about Angel, but it seemed that now there was sex involved that everything was different.

"What do you want me to do Riley? I can't change the past. There was a time when I loved Angel and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm sorry you don't like the fact that I slept with him but it's done now."

Hearing the words come from her mouth made Riley look as though he was going to be sick.

"I can't deal with this." He choked. "I need some space."

Before Buffy could say anything else he stumbled from the room and was soon out of sight. Once he was gone she sank down onto the bed, barely able to believe what had just happened.

"Oh god." She whispered half to herself and half to Spike. "I think I've just lost him."

Spike took a seat beside her and gently took her hand. "If he can't deal with who you are then you're better off without him, pet."

Buffy raised her tear filled eyes to meet his. "He thinks I'm disgusting."

"Then he's blind. You're the most beautiful woman I know and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Buffy couldn't help but smile; it was amazing how sweet Spike could be when he put his mind to it.

"If I didn't know better, Spike. I'd think you were in love with me." She teased, trying to get back to the banter they'd been having before Angel and Riley had burst in.

Spike's response was to lean forward and kiss her softly. Buffy froze with surprise for a moment but then instinct took over and her eyes fluttered shut as she returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around him as she deepened it.

The kiss only lasted a few moments and when they parted Spike smiled shyly. "Been wanting to do that for a while now."

Buffy smiled in return. "I'm kind of glad you did."

They fell into silence as they both tried to process what had just happened. Somehow the problem with Adam didn't seem as important as it had earlier. They had each other now and somehow that's all that seemed to matter

The End


End file.
